Automatic air-compressor.



JQ GRNINGBR. AUTOMATIC I-B COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 31,1907. 922,694. Patented May 25, 1909.

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J. GRNINGBR.

AUTOMATIG AIR COMPRESSOR.

APPLIoATIoN FILED 00T. 31,1997.

922,694:B Patented May 25, 1909.

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vr "Tv .a a n x r" rrr r s el Staline JOSEPH GRNINGER,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC AER-COMPRESSOR.

Application filed October 3l To all whom fit' may concern.' l llc it known that l, Josnrn GnNiNonn, a citizen of the United States oi America, and t a resident of New Yorlt, county and State ol' l New York, have invented certain new and useful impr ovcments in Automatic Air-Compressors, ol' which the following is a speciirad tion. rlhis invention has reference to improvey ments in automatic double actingI air compressors preferably run by electricity.

lt is the special object of my invention to produce an air compressor which requires no attendance at'ter it has been started, that is, after the current has been turned on. This desirable result is attained by virtue of the novel construction of the air compressor whose cylinders are automatically started l and stopped by novel electric regulator which. in turn is actuated by variations of the pressure in the air tank which pressure is produced by the action of the cylinders. By the cooperation of the novel electric regulator with the other parts of the compressor .neither current nor motive power is expended unless the compressor is in actual operation except to note that the compressor' must be oiled about once a week. incidental to this main object the cost of construction has been lept low by making the most of the parts ol the compressor of cast iron. Owing to the construction ol2 the present compressor its weight is very light beingl about one-third of the weight of similar compressors formerly .,scd. j ccordingly the compressor occupies little space but none ol' its parts come in contact with each other du ring operation. Furthermore it has been sought to secure novelty and. attractiveness in appearance so as to l make the compressor a neat and desirable article which may be mounted under a glass case in a conspicuous place, and a worm gear is advantageously used in connection with the small motor whereby liability to derangement is reduced te a minimum, all as will be fully described hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawingl in which:

Figure l represents in front elevation partly in section on line l, 1 ol Fig. 2 an air compressor with electric regulator which embodies in desirable Vform the present impiovements. Fig. 2 is a top view of same. 3 illustrates the compressor in side elevation seen. from the right ol Fig. l partly in section on line 3, 3 ol Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a Specification of Letters batent.

` height to about i() inches.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Serial No. 399,979,

rear view with certain parts omitted and partly in section on line e, l ot Fig. 2 sh owing in detail the electric regulator.

onnilar characters ol relerernie denote like parts 1n all the figures.

The automatic air compressor 1s mounted on a substantial 'frame a which Al'or the prei Vlerred size is but ll inches square while the compressor mounted thereon raises the total Two cylinders l), l2 are mounted on the base plate a, ol" the lrame.

.The pistons oll the cylinders, are connected to a walking beam c which is mounted on a substantial post or standard d bolted to the base plate o/ ol' the Vframe.

The pistons are ol novel construction. The piston proper p is relatively short and surrounded by a cup washer p2 ol leather which is slantingly cut ollf at thc bottom end. On the top oil the piston there is secured a device p which is not completely air tight.

The shalt c oll the walking beam extends inwardly beyond same and a lever or arm e is mounted thereon as shown in Fig. 2. This lever e connects with a pitman which extends downward and is connected to a crank o mounted on a shaft 7L o'l` the worm wheel t. The worm wheel shalt is mounted in suitz'tble )ear-ings on the main trame. Said worm wheel t meshes or gears with a worm mounted directly on the shalt 7c ol the power iotor l which is inclosed in a suitable casing secured to the base plate 1/ o'lI the trame.

The power motor l is preferably an electric motor which runs at a relatively high speed To the bottom ol' each cylinder a tube 'm is secured which communicates with the interior ol same. A. valve device is screwed on the bottom end portion ol' said tube shown in section in Tl. This device consists ol' a suction valve o through which the air passes into the cylinder when the piston ascends. The cup washer pf: oll the short piston proper is thcn'presscd against the inner walls ol' the cylinder making it air tight while the cupA shaped device n3 oll metal prevents the washer 'l'rom dislocatingl and at the same time acts as a guiding device tor said piston. willie/n the piston descends the suction valve o closes and the air is compressed in the usual manner, passing through the pipe m and sidewise into an annular space n which communicates with the space below the pressure valve c lifting,` same and allowing the air to pass through the tube o into the pressure tank. Both valves may be easily taken out for inspection and cleaning. Y The electric regulator is actuated by the variations of the ressure in the air tank. For convenience t is device is preferably in communication with the tube leading to the pressure tank near the valve devices so as to have this tube within the frame of the compressor but this is not shown on the drawing.

The electric regulator is mounted on a support cast directly on the main frame. It is shown in section in Fig. 4. A circular incision g is cut into the support and a pipe r screwed therein from below. This pipe communicates on the one hand with the small space created by the incision in the support and on the other hand with the pressure tank or the tube leading thereto. A membrane or diaphragm s of suitable material, of rubber for instance, is placed on the support and a small cylinder or housing t screwed on the support securing thus the membrane tightly. The fretted sleeve t extends into the top of the housing and an open cylindrical spring a is located within the housing and sleeve.

- Through the s rino asses a rod u havin secured to its lower end a small piston 'a2 whose upper surface bears against the spring while its lower rests on the membrane s. A lever 'w supported in the fulcrum fw of an arm which is cast on the housing t connects loosely with the rod u. The lever' extends upward and then horizontally over the power motor. At its end there is a pivot connecting with a downward lever 'L02 which carries on its lower end a segmental gear y pivoted to a short rod y which is guided in the main frame. A star gear 'f1/2 constantly revolves right above the eccentric gear y. The pivot of the eccentric gear carries a cam having a contact 2 which contacts with a second contact 2/ when the pump is running. 1

By virtue of the fretted sleeve within the housing the cylindrical spring may be more or less compressed whereby the pump is adjusted to any desirable number of pounds of pressure within certain limits. For pumps of high pressure the construction remains the same as described save that the pistons are made of smaller diameter.

Then the motor is started the pump will work until the pre-*determined pressure in the tank has been attained. As soon as the pressure in the tank slightly exceeds the desired number of pounds the membrane s of the regulator is forced upward together with the piston u2 resting on it. The rod connected to the piston forces up the lever w whereby the eccentric gear is also raised and engages the star gear which constantly revolves. The star gear moves the eccentric gear to the left whereby the cam with contact .e is raised upward and the electric circuit broken. The lever w is quite long therefore any slight rise of the small piston and piston rod readily actuates the electric device located at its free end to which the eccentric gear is attached and the gear moving the eccentric gear raises the one contact quickly a considerable distance whereby the electric circuit is broken and the pump stopped. Wlhenthe pressure in the tank falls below the predetermined number of pounds the membrane, small piston with rod and lever w descend and with them the eccentric gear and contact z which falls back on the contact z and restablishes the electric circuit whereby the motor is again started. Thus the pump gives an even pressure no matter how great the rush of business may be.

By the quick removal of the one contact from the other sparking between same is reduced to a minimum. The absence of sparks is of great importance for the reliable working of the air compressor.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a double acting air compressor, an electric regulator consisting of a small cylinder and piston with membrane below, a lever attached to the piston rod, a segmental eccentric gear in connection with the free end of the lever, a constantly revolving star gear above the segmental gear, a contact on the segmental gear, and a stationary contact.

2. In a double acting air compressor, an electric regulator, a support on which said regulator' is mounted, a circular incision inA said support, a pipe screwed therein connecting with the incision in the support and the pressure reservoir, a flexible membrane on the support, a small cylinder thereon securing the membrane tightly, a fretted sleeve extending from the top into the housing, a cylindrical spring within the latter', a rod passing through the spring, a piston secured to said rod at its lower end bearing against the spring and the diaphragm, a lever movably secured on the piston rod, a segmental gear on the other end of the lever, a star gear constantly revolving upon the segmental gear, a contact on the segmental gear, and a stationary contact.

Signed at New York, N. Y., this 29th day of 0ctober, 1907.

' JOSEPH GRUNINGER.

Witnesses: l

LUDWIG K. BHM,

MARGUERITE I. DEIUZER. 

